Hunt continues for suspect in cemetery chase

Advance photo/Anthony DePrimoA police officer searches Baron Hirsch Cemetery, Graniteville, after a man driving a stolen vehicle fled on foot.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.
-- Cops are still searching for a man who escaped through Baron Hirsch Cemetery
in Graniteville after ditching a stolen minivan in which he sped the wrong way
on the Staten Island Expressway.

The suspect is
described as a black man, 5 feet, 10 inches, about 150 pounds, with short hair.
It is believed the fugitive is carrying a gun, a police source told the Advance
yesterday.

A wild chase was
sparked when the man apparently became unnerved by an undercover police unit
and bolted.

The jittery suspect
jumped into a gray 2002 Pontiac Montana minivan that had been left running with
the keys in the ignition while the driver, an unidentified woman, ran an errand,
the source said.

The Staten Island Task Force and Highway Patrol units gave chase, and at
about 4 p.m., the suspect was seen driving the wrong way on the Staten Island
Expressway by the West Shore Expressway interchange.

He exited the highway and abandoned the minivan at Amity Place and Ludwig
Lane in Graniteville, almost two and one-quarter miles from where the chase had
begun.

Witnesses saw the suspect take off on foot, hop a fence and disappear into
Baron Hirsch Cemetery.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS
(8477). The public can also submit tips on the Internet at
www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting tips to CRIMES (274637), then entering
TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.